Regents Earth Science

John Dewey High School

Mr. Klimetz

Sedimentary Rocks:

Identification, Classification, and Interpretation

Reading the Earth Science Reference Tables III

Answer the following questions based on your interpretation of the Scheme for Sedimentary Rocks Identification chart of the Earth Science Reference Tables (page 7) as well as your class notes.

1.     I am a sedimentary rock which consists entirely of fragments of quartz, feldspar, and mixed rocks

which range in diameter from 0.006 cm to 0.2 cm that have been cemented together. My name is

a.  siltstone  b.  sandstone   c.  shale   d.  limestone

2.     Which textural term refers to sedimentary rocks that are comprised of fragments minerals and

pre-existing rocks?

a.  crystalline   b.  organic   c.  clastic   d.  silicate

3.     I am a clastic sedimentary rock which consists of a mixture of angular grains which range from silt

to boulder size. My name is

a.  conglomerate   b.  sandstone   c.  breccia   d.  siltstone

4.     I am a monomineralic sedimentary rock which consists entirely of halite. I most likely formed by

a.  the cementation of fragments of pre-existing rocks.

b.  the compaction of organic remains.

c.  the cementation of fossil shells, shell fragments, and skeletal remains.

d.  precipitation as crystals in response to evaporation and/or supersaturation.

5.     Limestone consists entirely of which mineral?

a.  quartz   b.  calcite   c.  halite   d.  gypsum

6.     Carbon is the primary constituent of which sedimentary rock?

a.  bituminous coal   b. fossil limestone   c.  chemical limestone   d.  dolostone

7.     Which is the correct order for the clastic sedimentary rocks listed below in grain-size order from

smallest to largest?

a.  siltstone-sandstone-shale-conglomerate

b.  shale-sandstone-siltstone-conglomerate

c.  shale-siltstone-sandstone-conglomerate

d.  conglomerate-sandstone-siltstone-shale

8.     How can we describe the compositional difference between a breccia and a conglomerate?

a.  A breccia is a chemical sedimentary rock whereas a conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock.

b.  A conglomerate consists of a mixture of grain sizes whereas a breccia is comprised only of a

single grain size.

c.  A conglomerate consists mainly of rounded fragments whereas a breccia consists mainly of

angular fragments.

d.  There is no compositional difference between a conglomerate and a breccia.

9.     I am a compact and extremely fine-grained clastic sedimentary rock which splits easily and

consists of particles less than 0.0006 cm in diameter. My name is

a.  siltstone   b.  shale   c.  clay   d.  bituminous coal

10.   Concrete may be thought of as a sort of man-made sedimentary rock which consists of a mixture

of rounded rock and mineral grains ranging from gravel size to silt size that have been cemented

together. Which sedimentary rock most closely resembles concrete?

a.  sandstone   b.  conglomerate   c.  limestone   d.  breccia

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American geologists Francis J. Pettijohn [1] and Paul D. Krynine [2], former colleagues at the University of Chicago, were specialists in the field of sedimentary geology and sedimentology. They are credited with having developed dynamic models for the evolution of clastic and nonclastic sedimentary rocks. The ideas advanced in their many seminal published works are still widely accepted today.